Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for a murder conviction and just days ago was acquitted of a double murder, died after hanging himself in his prison cell early Wednesday, Massachusetts prisons officials said.

Hernandez, 27, was found by guards in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley just after 3 a.m., Department of Correction spokesman Christopher Fallon said in a statement.

The NFL is totally happy about its players speaking their minds—as long as it doesn't hurt the NFL.

That's the gist of the letter sent by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, in which he officially announced that the league will be considering a proposal that would prevent players from keeling during the national anthem.

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:Would it actually be constitutional for the NFL to mandate that its players show patriotism (obedience) in a specified way?

I believe that employers can tell employees what they can and can't do while on the clock.
They can't tell them what to think while standing during the anthem, but they can tell them to be on time, fully dressed, stretched, and standing in line.

Mondays and Tuesdays are a different story altogether, march on the Capitol steps, sit in the streets, chat with CNNs Wolf Blitzer or ESPNs Jemele Hill, do whatever you want on your own time, but not while I'm signing your paychecks.

The NFL has already forced it's players to stand at attention. Interest groups paid the NFL to do this starting in the 200's. They used to not even play the anthem.

Can't kneel, but you can beat your wife/girlfriend/children and still make millions. You can have your millions acquit you of rape and not even get a game, but if you smoke pot you're out for half the year. This feels out of touch with the majority of Americans. As CTE awareness grows exponentially out of the tub of infancy forcing players to do this (while the NFL is content with players doing MUCH worse) I can see no reason why anyone would play football. Play basketball and baseball for guaranteed money where you'll actually be able to use your body later in life?

For a myriad of reasons (over saturated product, for one) we are likely witnessing the beginning of the decline for the NFL.

"Life's no piece of cake, mind you, but the recipe's my own to fool with."

I've wondered if the NFL is actually grateful for all the commotion over the whole anthem thing. It's taking the public's attention away from the recent news that Aaron Hernandez's brain was found to have what I believe was called the worst case of CTE the doctors had seen.
That is the brain of a 27-year-old, not some 60-year-old former long-time pro. And Hernandez hadn't played since he was 23. It's very likely that much of his brain damage was done prior to his short NFL career, in college and even high school.
The NFL REALLY didn't want that to be the focus of sports and news analysts, so the timing of the anthem brouhaha couldn't have been better...for the NFL.
I know parents who are steering their boys away from football and I think that is going to increase, so Som may be right. The NFL is a dead sport walking.

The NFL's about-face on the issue is so brutally cynical and pathetic that I would probably enjoy it were it not for the exploitation and corruption endemic to the league. Prior to now the whole "debate" has been like watching Godzilla vs. Mothra, only with far less likable combatants. I don't know how much this decision if carried out would hasten the decline of the NFL, but it's on borrowed time for sure.

(Incidentally, I said as much while out last night- guy at the party got SO OFFENDED when I said the NFL wouldn't exist in its current state within 15 years. Said that it's too culturally relevant and popular to ever fade. Probably safe to say he's not a horse racing fan...)

Carson Wentz threw for two touchdowns and three 2-point conversions after Philadelphia lost kicker Luke Elliott to a head injury, and the Eagles all but wrapped up the NFC East with a 37-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier underwent an MRI and a CT scan at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after suffering a back injury in a collision with Cincinnati Bengals receiver Josh Malone early in the first quarter of Pittsburgh's 23-20 win Monday night. Shazier left the stadium in an ambulance.

Shazier's injury will not require surgery at this time, and he will stay overnight to continue evaluations with the hopes of returning to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, the team announced.

Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement facility based in Georgetown, KY, owes a big debt to the NFL this week–specifically New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Thanks to the Big Ten record-holder–whose team will kick-off against the Carolina Panthers in the first NFL Wild Card Round this Sunday–one of Old Friends’s retired mares was able to have a life-saving operation.

When one of its residents, Misszoey Belle, a now 13-year-old mare, showed sudden and severe signs of a gastrointestinal disorder in mid-December, it was quickly determined that surgery was her only chance for survival. A hard-knocker on the track, Misszoey Belle had 74 starts and seven wins, earning only $70,000 in her career and racing until she was eight. After her final start, she was bought back by her breeder, John C. Oxley and retired to Old Friends.

The mare was rushed to Park Equine Clinic in Lexington, which usually provides Old Friends with cost-free veterinary care. But an equine surgeon was not available, so the clinic called in Dr. Christopher Johnson, whose Equine Surgical Services is located in nearby Versailles, KY. She underwent surgery to repair a very serious intestinal obstruction known as an epiploic foramen entrapment. Her life spared, Misszoey Belle returned to Old Friends a few days later and is now recovering well with an excellent prognosis.

Discovering that the mare was an Old Friends retiree, Dr. Johnson offered to waive his fee. But knowing that he was a huge Saints fan, Old Friends resident veterinarian Dr. Bryan Waldridge offered Johnson a concession: How about an autographed football?

“I went to high school in New Orleans, so I have been a Saints fan as long as I’ve been alive,” says Johnson.

Luckily, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson is also a well-known racehorse owner, and one of his former runners, Saint Aloysius, was retired to Old Friends after suffering a career-ending injury last year. Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen made a call to the Saints’ office and Brees was kind enough to help out.